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散見簡牘合輯‧湖北江陵鳳凰山一六八號漢墓竹牘、衡杆文字

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Text ID
KR2p0126
Date
-167–-167
Dynasty
漢

Sǎn Jiàn Jiǎndú Héjí‧Húběi Jiānglíng Fènghuángshān Yīliùbā Hào Hànmù Zhúdú、Héng Gǎn Wénzì 散見簡牘合輯‧湖北江陵鳳凰山一六八號漢墓竹牘、衡杆文字

Collected Scattered Documents — Bamboo Tablet and Weighing-Rod Inscription from Han Tomb no. 168 at Fènghuángshān, Jiānglíng, Hubei

(anonymous; funerary petition and weighing-rod inscription)

About the work

A bamboo tablet (zhúdú 竹牘) and an inscription on a weighing rod (héng gǎn 衡杆) recovered from Han tomb no. 168 at Fènghuángshān 鳳凰山, Jiānglíng 江陵 (modern Jīngzhōu 荊州), Hubei Province. The bamboo tablet contains one of the most celebrated funerary documents from early Han China: a formal petition (gào 告) from the Jiānglíng garrison commander’s deputy to the Underground Chancellor (Dìxià Chéng 地下丞), authorizing the deceased and his possessions to pass into the realm of the dead. The weighing-rod inscription records regulations governing commercial scales. Published in KR2p 散見簡牘合輯 (Sǎn Jiàn Jiǎndú Héjí), Institute of History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 1990.

Abstract

The petition to the Underground Chancellor (Gào Dì Shū 告地書). The bamboo tablet begins: “Thirteenth year, fifth month, day gēngchén (shísān nián wǔ yuè gēngchén 十三年五月庚辰): the Jiānglíng Garrison Commander’s Deputy (Jiānglíng Chéng 江陵丞) dares to report (gǎn gào 敢告) to the Underground Chancellor (Dìxià Chéng 地下丞): Shìyáng (Shì Yáng 市陽) Fifth-Rank Noble (wǔ dàfū 五大夫) [name 燎/𤎩] personally declares that [he has with him] twenty-eight large male slaves (dà nú liáng děng èrshíbā rén 大奴良等廿八人), eighteen large female slaves (dà bì Yì děng shíbā rén 大婢益等十八人), two light chariots (yào chē èr chéng 軺車二乘), one ox-cart (niú chē yī liǎng 牛車一兩), four sì-team horses (sì mǎ sì pǐ 駟馬四匹), two roan horses (liú mǎ èr pǐ 駠馬二匹), four riding horses (qí mǎ sì pǐ 騎馬四匹). Please direct the official [of the underworld] to proceed accordingly — dares to report [this] to the Lord (gǎn gào zhǔ 敢告主).”

The year “13” is taken to refer to the thirteenth year of Emperor Wén 文帝 of Han (167 BCE), making this one of the most precisely dated examples of the gào dì shū genre. The document is a formal bureaucratic communication addressed to the subterranean counterpart of the Jiānglíng garrison official, certifying the transfer of the deceased’s identity, retinue, and property to the underground administrative realm. The formula (gǎn gào 敢告, “dares to report”) is the standard language of official communication to a superior, here used to address the netherworld bureaucracy.

The Weighing-Rod Inscription (héng gǎn wénzì 衡杆文字). Inscribed on the beam of a balance scale (chèng 稱) found in the tomb: “The official standard for weighing coins (zhèng wéi Shìyáng hù rén Yīng jiā chèng qián héng 正為市陽戶人嬰家稱錢衡): using coins as the counterweights (yǐ qián wéi lèi 以錢為纍); the marking says ‘four zhū’ (jū yuē sì zhū 劾曰四朱); both ends [are calibrated at] ten… whoever dares to choose among light and heavy balances or refuses to use [the standard], the fine as determined by law is to conscript [him] to serve at home ten days (bàn lùn fá yáo lǐ jiā shí rì 劾論罰繇里家十日).” The weighing rod thus served a dual function: as a burial item symbolizing the deceased’s property, and as a legal document recording the standardized weight scale used in the commercial household and the penalty for violation.

Significance. The Gào Dì Shū from Fènghuángshān 168 is one of the most famous examples of this genre in Han archaeology. Similar letters to underground officials have been found at: Fènghuángshān tomb 10 (see KR2p0125), Mǎwángduī 馬王堆 tomb 1 (168 BCE), and various Juyan 居延 and Dunhuang sites. The genre reflects Han beliefs in a bureaucratically organized underworld that mirrored the living administration; the deceased required official documentation to gain access to resources in the afterlife. The precise listing of slaves, chariots, and horses serves both inventory and ritual functions, certifying the extent of the deceased’s wealth and retinue for the underground authorities.

The “13th year” dating to 167 BCE also aligns closely with the Mǎwángduī 1 tomb (168 BCE), making Fènghuángshān 168 part of the same historical moment — the height of the early Western Han “rule of Wén and Jǐng” (Wén Jǐng zhī zhì 文景之治) — and illuminating the social world of a provincial fifth-rank landowner in the Jiāng-Hàn basin.

Translations and research

  • 中國社會科學院歷史研究所, 《散見簡牘合輯》, 文物出版社, 1990 — editio princeps.
  • 紀南城鳳凰山一六八號漢墓發掘整理組, 「湖北江陵鳳凰山一六八號漢墓發掘簡報」, 《文物》 1975.9, pp. 1–8 — excavation report.
  • Loewe, Michael. Ways to Paradise: The Chinese Quest for Immortality. George Allen and Unwin, 1979, pp. 25–39 — on gào dì shū and Han beliefs in the afterlife bureaucracy.
  • Loewe, Michael. Records of Han Administration. 2 vols. Cambridge University Press, 1967.
  • Poo Mu-chou. In Search of Personal Welfare: A View of Ancient Chinese Religion. State University of New York Press, 1998, pp. 165–182 — on the bureaucratic afterlife and gào dì shū.

Other points of interest

The Gào Dì Shū from Fènghuángshān 168 is frequently cited as a paradigmatic example of Han funerary bureaucratism. The document’s structure — a living official writing on behalf of the deceased to the dead official — reveals the Han conception of the afterlife as a seamless extension of the administrative state. The accompanying weighing-rod inscription is a rare survival of a Han commercial regulation in a funerary context, suggesting that the deceased was a merchant or official involved in commerce as well as agriculture.

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